First Descent of the South Fork Signor Mangaa
This past December, Canadians Ben Marr, Dave Nieuwenhuis and Patrick Camblin along with South African Andrew Pollock and Ireland's Nick Doran spent a month exploring the rivers of Peninsular Malaysia. With an annual mean rainfall of 2540mm there are lots of options and all styles of rivers. The group paddled some great sections with the gem of the trip being the first descent of the south fork of the Signor Mangaa in Perak Province. The river runs through the celebrated Belum rainforest which is said to be older than both the Congo and the Amazon and which boasts over 800 species of snakes, along with bears, elephants and tigers. The only way to the put-in was through a maze of muddy logging roads that run around the mountains high above the river. After a long day of scary driving the ‘road' was blocked by a massive landslide and the team had no choice but to set up camp for the night. In the morning they started a difficult hike down the landslide and through the thick jungle to reach to the river below. Eventually they made it to the river and were rewarded for their efforts with a classic two-day section down to the confluence with the north fork and down the main Signor Mangaa to the lake.
